Rebuild of Magic: 序Beginning
by Gamazek
Summary: Shinji thought his life couldn't get any worse. Getting beat up at school, being alone all his life with no one to call a friend, and saving the world without any acknowledgment or appreciation were just a few of the things that made Shinji regret coming to Tokyo-3. A lavender unicorn with a tiara ambushing him while he was taking a bath didn't exactly help his ego either.
1. Prologue: You Are Alone

Pre-Reader/Editor Ver.

**Rebuild of Magic**

**By Smiles**

= End Music

"From one to another, another to one. A mark of one's destiny singled out alone, fulfilled."

— Star Swirl the Bearded's "unfinished" spell.

* * *

Seven black monoliths hovered in a circular formation, emanating a soft light that held back the darkness. Each construct was adorned with the same symbol on the front; an upside-down triangle with three eyes on the left and four eyes on the right. A snake was curled around an apple in between the seven eyes, the words "SEELE" and "Überm Sternenzelt richtet Gott, wie wir gerichtet" emblazoned on the apple in blood red text. Each monolith was marked with large red numbers ranging from **00** to **07**, the only aspect that made each monolith different from the other. "SOUND ONLY SELECTED" was written near the bottom of each monolith.

"The fourth Angel's attack and subsequent destruction," the monolith marked **01** stated with pride. "The acquisition of the Third Child. Eva Unit-01's successful deployment. All according to plan, it would seem."

"The astronomical cost of repair to Unit-01 was an unexpected setback," said **04**.

"Compared to Unit-00's suspension, however, this is a minor concern," **05** replied.

"A minor concern? Surely this incident could have been handled a little more efficiently!" **02** spoke with irritation. "The repair bills, along with the reconstruction of the damaged sections of the city... why, it's going to cost as much as a small nation!"

"How serious was this malfunction? Will the Unit be ready when the fifth Angel appears?" **01** asked.

At the center of the monoliths' formation sat a single aged man behind a glowing desk, hands folded in front of his face as if in deep thought. His eyes were hidden behind glasses that reflected the light, concealing both them and, in a way, emotions. "You needn't be concerned. Now that Unit-01 is assigned to active duty, Unit-02 and its designated pilot are undergoing evaluation in Germany."

"See to it that Unit-04 in Nevada is completed on schedule in preparation for the Catalyst," ordered **04**. "Unit-03 and the rest will be handled by us."

"We are counting on you not to disappoint us. It is your duty to insure that NERV and the Evas are utilized appropriately. Your pet projects should only come second in priority," said **03**.

"Precisely. Annihilating the Angels is only one part of our covenant with Lilith. NERV and the Evas are not your only concerns," **06** entered the conversation curtly.

"The Earth's reunification with Humanity's first Eden," spoke **07**.

"The Final Unraveling of the Threads of Fate," spoke **02**.

"The Instrumentality Project," finished **01**. "What we ultimately desire is the execution of that plan. I would advise you to remember our goal and not lose sight of it."

The man stayed silent for a moment before replying. "I understand. Rest assured, SEELE's plans will soon come to fruition." His form then disappeared into the darkness.

"Can we truly trust Gendo Ikari?" questioned **03**.

"Ikari knows what is at stake and the importance of the project," answered **01**. "If he becomes a liability, he will be disposed of."

"That entirely depends on who has their grip on destiny," an old voice spoke with a wise tone, one that did not belong to any of the present monoliths.

A new monolith appeared where the man named Gendo had been, although it was situated much higher than Gendo's desk. Unlike the other monoliths, which were flat slabs of crimson onyx, it was shaped in a cylinder.

On the surface of its long body was the markings of eleven circles in a sephirot formation. Five of them were a bright gold, while the other 5 were a metallic silver. In the middle of each gold circle was the silhouette of an orange apple, a pink butterfly, a teal balloon, a purple diamond, and a red lightning bolt. The silver circles however all had dull grey octagons in their centers, nothing to distinguish themselves apart. At the bottom of the pattern was a white circle with a pink star in the middle.

At the top of the new monolith was a unique image of a swirling purple star, contrasting with the mark on the bottom, a sun being eclipsed by a crescent moon. It lacked a number. "After all, you yourselves possess only the same Fruit of Knowledge as he does."

"You actually decided on coming this time," stated **02** with a small hint of annoyance. "I take it the Catalyst has been prepared?"

"She has passed most of her given evaluations and tests. She need only overcome one more obstacle before the plan can be put into motion," it responded. "There have been some difficulties, however, in relocating the fragments to Mare Crisium."

"It seems a millenia of hatred will not be so easy to acquire after all," replied **05**.

"Unit-03 is still awaiting for the test's results from Unit-04's newly installed Faust Engine," spoke **04**. "Additionally, Unit-01 has only fought one Angel so far and therefore has not collected the required amount of combat data. Without these two, Project Nyx would not be able to proceed even if we did possess her essence."

**07** spoke up. "The Armaros is only a back-up plan however, and we should not devote all of our time and resources to only possibilities. The construction of the Mark.06 is already luckily ahead of schedule. Our focus now should be on the Third Child and the Catalyst."

"The Third Child. Our Trigger to the Final Destiny and the Unraveling of the Threads of Fate," **01** spoke.

"And with the Catalyst, the Eradication of the Original Sin," the swirling star-marked monolith finished.

* * *

Loud bangs surrounded the cylindrical chamber, the surrounding walls flashing a brilliant light with each burst of sound. An odd looking chair sat suspended in the middle of the chamber, handles at the end of the armrests with gloved hands held them lazily. A timer at the top right of the room continuously counted down, its current digits being 3:16.

"Center in on the target and then pull the trigger."

In between flashes, the surrounding walls gave way to a city, albeit about eighty meters above the ground. The city buildings were all nearly identical to the other, all plain white and translucent with only a height difference to distinguish one from the next. The wall's most interesting feature was the bony, humanoid creature, a little higher than the surrounding buildings with a clear purple texture instead of the buildings' white. At its chest was a blood red sphere.

"Center in on the target and then pull the trigger."

The light flashed again, sending six balls of fury into the chest of the thing, tossing it back before it exploded into a sphere of cubic particles. Another being exactly identical to it took its place and rose from the ground like a translucent ghost until it solidified and stood on the same spot where its comrade had fallen.

The lone occupant within the room was a thin young man of Asian descent, his face young and smooth with a narrow chin. He was garbed in a white skin-tight suit with odd hair-clips, as well as additional metal objects adorned all over his body. He wore a blank but tired expression upon his face. Like a broken record, he chanted a particular phrase with absolutely no emotion.

"Center in on the target and then pull the trigger."

The boy's name was Shinji Ikari.

The numbers hit zero. Everything returned to darkness.

"Simulation case nine-hundred and thirteen complete. Induction mode ended," a girl's voice echoed throughout the cylindrical room, its point of origin coming from all sides. The surrounding walls faded, no longer revealing the holographic city but an immensely large white room. At the left side of Shinji's field of vision was an observation room embedded flush against the wall. Inside was a blonde bespectacled woman that wrote on a clipboard while another younger woman spoke into a mic. "Releasing entry plug from simulation body. LCL De-ionization in progress."

The room immediately turned a murky, blood-red color, the "air" losing its typical traits as a gas and becoming liquid. Shinji let go of the handles and let his back rest against the seat, his eyes boring into the familiar ceiling as bubbles began entering through the entry plug.

"Why did I come back?" he asked himself.

Shinji felt his body lurch forwards as the room began moving backwards, a tinge of anger and sadness expressing itself on his face.

"What reason do I even have for coming back here? Nothing good happens when I do."

That train of thought came from his unfortunate stroke of luck a few hours ago after school. Shinji thought back to the event. What had he done wrong?

* * *

A few hours ago~

In the alley of a school between two buildings, Shinji and two other boys stood facing each other. One building stood at about five stories tall while the other was only four stories. The taller one possessed a steel net that surrounded the top of the roof. The shorter one, however, only had a steel rail. There was also a bike rack with a wooden top to prevent them from getting wet from the rain. A gate to the outside streets stood behind the three boys.

One boy was tall and stout. He wore a black jacket with a purple lining being flayed outward at the neck, the sleeves pulled back to free his arms. His eyes and hair were light brown and black, respectively, unlike Shinji's pale blue eyes and brown hair. Shinji knew him as Toji Suzuhara, Class 2-A's resident jock.

The other boy was closer to Shinji's height. He wore rather large glasses and the same white school clothing that Shinji was currently wearing. His hair was brown and his eyes a turquoise blue, freckles adorning his cheeks. Everyone knew him as Kensuke Aida, Class 2-A's resident geek.

"Okay, new kid, listen up!" said the jock. "My younger sister was hurt, _bad_**. **She's still in da hospital! My dad and gramps work in _your_ lab, and I'm the only one who can stay with her!"

He put his hands in his coat pocket and began circling Shinji. "It ain't da goin' dere I mind, but supposin' she ends up with some scar? She'll never be a babe!"

He stopped in front of Shinji and turned towards him, glaring into his eyes with a smug frown. "And whose fault d'ya think it was?"

Shinji blinked twice, not quite making the connection.

The jock, noticing Shinji's confusion, growled in frustration and pointed his finger at his face. "It's _your_ fault! She was _pinned under rubble_ because _you_ had to go crashin' around!"

Shinji blinked again, letting out a soft 'oh' before simply saying, "Sorry".

The jock stood dumbfounded by the simple reply, his finger still pointing at Shinji's face. "Sorry? Is dat it?"

A vein in his forehead popped out as he tried to make a lunge for Shinji. The geek grabbed his right arm before he could touch Shinji. "You tryin' ta make fun of me?! 'Sorry' just don't cut it!" Toji yelled, struggling against the geek as he tried to belt Shinji.

The geek kept trying to pull him back. "H-hey, Toji! Enough already. Stop before you do something stupid again."

Shinji, unafraid of Toji's anger, simply asked, "What do you want me to do? Kneel down and beg for forgiveness?"

Well, that did it. Toji simply lost it and tore his right arm from the geek and into Shinji's left cheek, sending him flying several feet onto his back.

The geek panicked, freaking out at Toji's recklessness. "Hey! You can't go around decking important pilots!"

Shinji wiped the blood from his face, gritting his teeth. "What did I do? It's not like I wanted to be the pilot," he muttered as he picked himself off the ground.

"You want a piece of me? Come get some!" said Toji, expecting retaliation from the frail boy.

The geek however was afraid of just that, saying, "H-hey, Toji, knock if off!"

What they got in response was not what they were expecting.

"Can I ask you something?" asked Shinji, looking straight into Toji's eyes. "Don't you get worn out from being angry all the time?"

Toji sputtered, not expecting words for a comeback.

"_Y-YOU BASTARD!_ I'm drawin' da line right here!" Toji said as the geek arm-locked him by the shoulder blades to prevent him from hitting Shinji a second time.

"HEY! WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING?!" a girl shouted from behind the two. She had brown hair arranged in two ponytails and wore the typical school uniform in a white, blue, and red color scheme. She had her hands on her hips as she waited for a response.

"I-it's the class rep!" the geek gasped nervously as he glanced back towards her.

Toji clenched his fists, his body shaking in anger at having his little 'meeting' interrupted. "Damnit, she just **hadda** butt in!"

Toji pulled away from the geek again while he was distracted by the class rep and grabbed Shinji by the shirt. "Listen up, putz! A little **advice**!"

He pulled Shinji up to his face before snarling, "Next time yer inna fight, watch where ya put yer friggin' **feet**! GOT DAT?"

Shinji simply stared into Toji's eyes, not an ounce of fear in him.

Toji growled and pushed him away before walking off towards their class representative. The geek put his hand on Toji's shoulder in an attempt to calm him down, but he pushed him away too, although gentler than what he did to Shinji. "Kensuke, geddoffa me."

Shinji watched as the two walked towards the upset girl, feeling nothing but a small ounce of sadness that he quickly shut away. After all, he was used to this kind of pain.

Present~

"An admirable thing. Admirable to whom?," Shinji asked himself. "Why do I have to get hurt for piloting the Eva?"

The lurching feeling stopped at around the same time the entry plug was free of the orange-red fluid.

"LCL drainage complete, opening exit hatches," the same female voice from before stated as light poured onto the left side of his face.

As he stepped out of the entry plug and lowered himself onto a hard metal scaffolding, he couldn't help but try and spit out the iron taste that lingered in his mouth. "It tastes like blood."

* * *

A clear blue sky sat atop a red murky ocean.

A Renault Alpine A310 drove quickly at 100 km/h on a mountainside freeway. It was an ocean shade of blue and had a 1970s retro look. Multiple dents covered the metal exterior, as well as some spiderweb patterns that littered the glass headlights. The trunk and windows were held in place by a few brown pieces of duct tape, though surprisingly the windows featured no form of damage to them.

The driver was a young asian woman in her late 20s, her figure something most women could only dream of possessing. Her hair was dyed a dark purple and combed at the front, while at the back it flowed smoothly past her shoulders. She wore a striped T-shirt with a white vest along with torn blue jeans that revealed her thighs.

According to her work ID, which rested in the middle of the car, her name was Misato Katsuragi. Her rank of lieutenant colonel, height of 5'4", and AO blood type were also displayed, although the sections of the card listing her age as well as other body measurements had been scribbled out.

On her left, Shinji sat staring out the window, completely ignoring, or possibly not even caring for Misato's rather revealing choice of clothing.

If someone didn't know any better, they might have guessed it was because he was used to it.

"Hey, roomie. How goes it, hmm?" Misato asked in her cheery, high toned voice.

Shinji said without turning, "Today's training was okay, I guess."

"No, not that. Your new school. You make any new friends?" Misato chided.

All she got in response was an uncomfortable silence.

"Well, Ritsuko told me that your accuracy has improved over 10% from your last test," said Misato as she attempted to cheer up the sullen-looking boy.

"That's good, I guess," Shinji replied emotionlessly.

"Hmph, you sure are being depressing today," Misato said with a pout. "10% is a **lot,** you know. It's not easy aiming and focusing with a real gun. You should feel more proud of yourself!"

Silence was her only reply.

Trying to keep a smile on her face, she tried to appeal to Shinji one last time. "Weeell, I think this calls for a celebration." She giggled. "What to do, what to do," she thought out loud, holding up her chin with her left hand. She then gasped. "Oh, I know! How about I actually cook for us today!"

"Isn't that just instant food and leftovers?" Shinji asked her skeptically, turning towards her for the first time since she had begun driving.

"Hey! Instant food and leftovers are perfectly okay to eat!" Misato snapped defensively. "And for your previous question, no. Today I plan on making my own steak specialty. Hehe, I bet you'll love it!"

Shinji turned back to stare out the car's window.

Misato smile dropped and she sighed. "Why are you so depressed? You're not the one with 33 loan repayments. And I still gotta get this car fixed." She pointed toward the car's dented roof. "Paying for these things are expensive, you know? I only get so much cash for being a government official."

Shinji mentally scoffed.

"Maybe if you weren't such a reckless driver, you wouldn't have to."

"Hey, don't get so snotty. You know, you're not as cute as I thought you were."

Misato heard Shinji grumble a bit.

"What's got you in such a bad mood today anyway?" she asked. She ruffled her hair as she said, "I know you don't like to talk much but geez, even **you** were more talkative the first time I met you. Did you get in a fight with a friend or something?"

"I don't have any friends," Shinji replied with a hint of anger. Misato might have been imagining it, but she could have sworn she heard a hint of loneliness in there too.

"Pfft, stop being so dramatic. Everyone has at least a friend or two by your age. So tell me, what happened today at school? " Of course Misato knew what happened at school, but she wouldn't tell him that. It would be pretty unnerving for him to find out that his every action was being monitored by men in black.

He stayed quiet for a moment before asking, "Misato, why should I pilot the Eva?"

Surprised, Misato asked, "Hey, what kind of thinking is that?"

He didn't respond.

"You pilot to protect the lives of **all mankind**. Every single person's life rides on your shoulders."

Shinji didn't seem impressed.

Misato sighed. "If you keep piloting the Eva like you don't care, you'll be dead before you know it."

"That's okay. I **don't** care."

Misato turned her head towards Shinji quickly, her eyes wide.

"It really doesn't matter if I die..."

"Hey, don't say things like that!" Misato said loudly. "Kids shouldn't be thinking about stuff like that. Besides, you're an important pilot to us. Who'll defend this city if you're not around?"

"I get it, alright? All I need to do is beat the bad guys," Shinji turned his head toward Misato as he said this before looking out at the dead sea again. "You made your point."

Misato opened her mouth to speak, but found that she could not. After all, how could she reply to that without making him feel worse? _I'm a terrible guardian._

Not a word passed between the two for the rest of the trip back to the apartment.

* * *

"You know, this steak is gonna take me a while to finish cooking; why don't you go take a bath?" Shinji heard Misato call from the kitchen. "You're still reeking of LCL by the way, it was hard driving back here with that stench of yours. Don't want you spoiling the food just 'cause you weren't aware of your own hygiene."

Shinji sighed to himself as he stopped his music player, an S-DAT developed by Sony, before getting off his thin futon mattress and heading toward the bathroom. The digital audio tape was left on track three, 3:13 adorning the front screen.

"Oh, I thought I should let you know Pen-Pen is in the shower right now, don't want you freaking out like last time!" he heard Misato yell out to him again as he slid the washroom curtain open.

About five minutes later, Shinji stepped into the filled bathtub carefully before fully submerging himself. He stared into the light at the top of the ceiling, unmoving. A penguin waddled out of the shower and exited into the kitchen.

_I wonder when it all started... the drifting... It's like my mind and body have come apart, little by little..._

Shinji raised his left hand and stared at it. He clenched and unclenched it repeatedly, remembering the pain he had endured to protect what Misato had said he should protect.

_Whenever something sad... or painful... happens... it's like there's another me who watches it... like it's happening to someone else, thinking... "that's not me, why should I care?"_

He closed his eyes as brief images of his past echoed from the light. A boy crying for his father to come back, to hold him and comfort him like Mother used to. A boy watching as kids played and had fun with each other, blissfully unaware and uncaring of the suffering others endured. A boy apologizing to two adults, apologizing for being different and not letting go of the pain like they had oh so quickly.

_It's okay. I can live like that._

An image of a bigger boy punching another. The bigger boy didn't care about the smaller one, what he was going through, or how his actions would affect him. All he cared about was himself.

_I'll lock my heart away deeper... if I do that... I won't have to feel pain inside or outside..._

An image of a monster holding a boy by the head. The monster didn't care about the boy's past, present, or future, his life's experiences, journeys, nor epiphanies. All it cared about was itself.

_...or the fear..._

An image of nothing but him and a field of white. A place where freedom and happiness reign together side by side. A paradise where he himself wouldn't be hurt by others in any way, shape, or form. A true Eden that he can experience alone for all eternity.

_I won't have to feel anything at all._

An image of a boy holding a violet flower to a blurred image. Smiles were on both their faces.

_But... is this truly what I want?_

He opened his eyes to the dim light bulb, before noticing a small purple dot in the middle of his vision.

Confused, he squinted to try and get a better look to see if he wasn't seeing things. He was forced to close his eyes a second later as the dot became a very bright purple sphere that hovered above his chest.

Not a second later, there was a large splash that emptied the tub of most of its hot water, and there was a light clang to the left of him, as if something metal but light had fallen to the ground. There was also the unmistakable sensation of someone on top of his waist. Or at least, something.

Shinji opened his eyes slowly, before staring at one of the strangest things he had ever seen.

It was quadrupedal creature, with appendages ending in short stumps and a body type the closest he could relate to was a dog. It's fur was a light purple, and it had dark blue hair with a pink and purple streak down the middle on its scalp and tail, a style a human who dyed their hair might have. On its rump was a tattoo, a pink star surrounded by five other ones. Its most striking feature, however, was its face. Its eyes were huge, encompassing most of its face. There was also a purple grooved horn that sat on top of its forehead.

Its face was contorted in agony, much like a normal human expression.

In a dialect that he wasn't familiar with and much to his horror, it _spoke_.

* * *

Just a minute ago, Twilight had restored the memories and identities of each of her friends, returning the most important ponies to her to their true selves.

Not only that, she had figured out a way to fix Starswirl's spell! Through the power of friendship, she created a brand new form of magic, something not even he could do.

She was still unsure of what the spell was actually supposed to do, but it didn't really matter. She had her friends back, and that was all that mattered.

Well, she **had**. All she had right now was a splitting headache.

"Oww... my... head. I don't think that was supposed to happen." Twilight Sparkle clutched her forehead with her right hoof. She could feel her coat drenched in a warm liquid, though where the liquid came from was beyond her. Her landing was oddly soft as well, and she moved her left hoof onto the fleshy skin she was sitting on to try and balance herself.

_Fleshy Skin?_

She raised her head and opened her violet eyes as pale blue eyes stared back at her.

Silence filled the room.

Looking back at her was an animal the likes of which she had never seen. The closest she could come up with in describing its appearance was a frail hairless monkey. Its shoulders weren't very broad, and it didn't have much muscle. Its hairless body was also tawny, while its mane was brown.

It also had a horrified expression on its face, which was not a good thing as she had learned from experience. Not good at all.

Twilight didn't know what had happened, nor what was happening at the moment, but she knew with certainty that having a new species being scared of her was a very, **very** bad situation to be in.

If it panicked, it could start calling its friends, and then she would be in **deep** trouble.

Putting the best speaking voice she could, she nervously said, "U-um, hi there! I come in peace from the land of Equestria."

Cliché and corny, but looking good so far.

"My name is Twilight Sparkle, personal student of Princess Celestia," she said a little bit more confidently, pointing her hoof towards herself. "And I would like to offer peace between our two species."

She paused to let the words sink in.

"So I ask of you, will you accept my friendship?" she said, extending her hoof for a hoof shake while putting on an awkward smile.

Well, that was easy. First contact with a new species wasn't so hard after all! She even got her mentor's tone right!

Thank goodness Princess Celestia had assigned her to read _First Contact 101_ last weekend during that timberwolf incident. With her offer of friendship, there was no way it would start scre-

"**EEEIIIGGHHH!"**

Twilight's ears flopped down.

"Oh horseapples."

* * *

Next Time: "Hedgehog's Dilemma"

"Fly Me To The Moon"

Authors Note: I recommend reading this story up on spacebattles .net or fimfiction .net.


	2. Chapter 1: Hedgehogs Dilemma

Pre-Reader/Editor Ver.

**Rebuild of Magic **

**By Smiles**

= End Music

"In the magical universe there are no coincidences and there are no accidents. Nothing happens unless someone wills it to happen."— **William S. Burroughs**

* * *

A blaring siren, used in only the most highest tiers of alerts, echoed throughout a room.

The room in itself was enormous, big enough to house an entire mansion! All around the room laid computers and holographic interfaces that streamed terabytes of data. All around, holograms seemingly floated in midair like magic.

Three individual floors separated the different levels of the room. The bottom level's pathway for people to go about their duties was in the shape of an M. The middle level was located twenty-four feet higher than the lower level and was positioned mainly at the inverted arch of the M. On it were three identical platforms that also held three tall identical metal containers. At the top level, a floor was situated 50ft higher than the lower level, granting it access to observe the entire room. It had only three chairs at the front and a single chair for a single individual hung at the back.

Three figures sat in the chairs at the top level; two young males and one young female. All of them wore the same outfit that the personnel of the facility could also be seen wearing earlier that day.

Everybody knew them as the bridge bunnies. They knew themselves as Shigeru Aoba, Makoto Hyuga, and Maya Ibuki.

The two men wore a tan fabric jacket with two orange stripes on each shoulder tucked into tan trousers held by a belt at the waist. Hyuga was short, wore glasses, and had his hair spiked upwards. Aoba on the other hand was tall and had shaggy hair.

Ibuki wore a similar jacket, although it wasn't tucked in and was shaped around her body. Her legs were dressed in a white skin tight pants that were held by a belt at her torso. Her hair wasn't very long either, as part of her tomboyish appearance.

Ibuki looked around at all the holograms in the room as large red text that said a variety of things such as "WARNING" and "ALERT" started popping across the room.

"Mid-level alarms; what in the world could set those off?"

An old man entered the room from behind them with a serious look on his face, as well as a hint of worry. He had a narrow face with a white complexion, his grey hair neatly folded back to reveal his entire forehead. He wore a brown leather coat and black leather pants.

"Status report. What's setting off those alarms? Is it an attack?" the man asked as he walked up behind them.

"Unknown Vice-Commander Fuyutsuki, we're still trying to determine the origin of the alert. Hyuga, shut off those alarms, they're annoying as hell!"

The shorter bespectacled man nodded and typed some commands into the holographic keyboard in front of him before the alarms stopped.

A notice appeared on one of the holograms.

"10 minutes ago at approximately 7:53:05 p.m. (GMT + 9:00), Magi sensors detected the brief presence of an A.T. Field twice 5 minutes from each other in the...old sections of Tokyo-3," read Ibuki as she almost whispered the last few words.

Hyuga added silently, "T-thats where the pilot of Unit-01 and Misato live..."

Aoba typed in some commands on his side as the holograms began changing text. "All three Magi are unable to come to a consensus on the pattern of the first appearance. It shifted through most if not all patterns for about 1 second before disappearing. However, Casper and Melchior have been able to determine accurately the second appearance. It's... no, that's impossible."

"What is it, Aoba?" Fuyutsuki asked the shaggy haired man quietly.

Aoba typed in some commands on his keyboard. "Displaying results now..."

All the holograms in the room showed the exact same thing.

Pattern Analysis: Blood Type RED (Error)

"...It's red," Aoba finished as all the holograms started coming up with the same conclusion.

Fuyutsuki narrowed his eyes as he looked at the results.

_So it's here. Just like Ikari predicted of the old men._

"**Pattern Red**? But that pattern is only theoretical. To emit an AT-Field like that is practically impossible," said the girl as she spoke with awe and fear.

"Neither was Unit-01 reactivating when it was out of power, Ibuki, but it still got up and beat the crap out of that Angel," Hyuga replied to the girl, chuckling a little to lighten the tone.

"Can the appearance of the patterns be pinpointed to its exact location?" Fuyutsuki asked the three.

"Negative, the A.T. Field that was generated was too brief for the sensors to fully identify and was comparable to that of a human in scale and size," Aoba replied as he turned to the Vice Commander and shook his head. "Pinpointing its exact location would be like finding a needle in a haystack, even for our supercomputers."

"Balthasar was able to confirm that both appearances however originated from the same being. Casper and Melchoir are still flip-flopping between decisions." added Hyuga.

"Cameras in the area are unable to detect any visible anomalies nor odd soundwaves," said Ibuki. Her fingers dashed across the keys at lightning fast speeds as holographic screens popped into existence, showing a peaceful and sleeping district. She turned towards her superior and asked, "Vice Commander, what will you have us do?"

Fuyutsuki took a deep breath for a moment, closing his eye in thought. His eyes reopened as he replied.

"File this down under EEE-Level clearance, and send a copy of the report to Commander Ikari. This isn't Green or Sepia; whatever happened out there needs to be recorded."

* * *

"So tell me again, this time a little slower without switching back to English, what are you and why were you trying to molest Shinji?" asked Misato, an unamused expression on her face.

It was supposed to be a peaceful night for her. The night weather was nice, it wasn't raining, and she had cooked a nice juicy steak without putting any soy sauce, random chocolate bits, or a little beer that she usually put in all of her own food, making it more "edible" for Shinji.

After that little _talk_ in the car, she wanted to find a way to try and get a little closer to Shinji. As his guardian, it was her job to make him feel well at home, and she was trying her very best at it. He was just so pessimistic and jaded the first time she met him, always assuming the worst. Sure there would be some outbursts from time to time, but it overall just felt like he didn't enjoy living.

_Just like me, 15 years ago._

So, she tried to spice up his life a little, showing him some enjoyment and adventure. Maybe then he would stop sulking around and open up to the world around him. Make some friends and push his life to the fullest. And this dinner was supposed to be that first step towards that seemingly impossible goal.

Now it was ruined. All because this _thing_ decided to pop out from nowhere.

Sitting in front of her on the dinner table was a purple candy-colored pony with a horn on its head. Her brain, that part that wasn't drunk right now, was telling her she was seeing things.

1. Equines on Earth didn't have the cute and cuddly body shape she was currently looking at.

2. No mammals on Earth ever had purple fur, as that kind of color was bad for survival.

3. Unicorns never existed on Earth, as they are mythical creatures originating from Europe.

4. Many species on Earth, including horses, were _extinct_.

Misato massaged the bridge of her nose as a frown formed on her face. If this was some kind plan from Nerv's 5th Branch in China to get her to retire,_it was working_.

"I-I already said I wasn't trying to molest anypony!" Twilight Sparkle stammered as her huge blush forming on her face.

Misato felt her left eye twitch at the word 'anypony.'

Twilight took a deep breath before raising her hoof to explain herself. "Once again, my name is Twilight SparkIe, personal student of the co-ruler of the land of Equestria, Princess Celestia. I am a unicorn pony, one of the three subtypes of ponies that exist, along with earth and pegasus ponies. I was trying to cast a language spell on him so I could learn the dialect your kind speak."

"I keep hearing the word spell. I suppose that's magical too then?" Misato deadpanned.

Twilight looked bewildered.

"Um, yeah. That's what spells are, _magical_," Twilight replied like it was the simplest thing in the world. "Don't you know the basics of the most fundamental thing on Earth?"

Misato's right eye twitched in annoyance at the mare's attitude before she fiercely bared her teeth at her, making Twilight jump.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please don't eat me!" the frightened mare said quickly as she cowered behind her forehooves.

Misato sighed before saying tiredly,

"You were talking about how you got here."

Twilight gulped. "I-I'm really just as lost and confused as you ponies- er- people, really. I'm not here as some alien invader," she motioned wildly with her arms, "or some science experiment gone wrong. I-" Twilight ears flopped down as her eyes saddened. "I don't even know how I got here..."

Misato's eyes softened at the sudden mood change of the animal in front of her, not really understanding how she got here either. She assumed that this horse was female and roughly the same age as Shinji, judging by her voice and mannerisms. As such, she felt a pang of empathy for it too as she watched it stare helplessly at the ground.

From what Twilight had told her a while ago, supposedly this unicorn came from "The Magical Land of Equestria," in which she was trying to save her friends from wrong cutie marks and what not through the power of "friendship," which had somehow ended up on top of Shinji instead. Then she started rambling about tests, star swirls, and other things about her home to herself for about 5 minutes straight before Misato asked her to repeat herself.

Unbeknownst to the mare, Misato was a keen listener and observer, and had been mentally jotting down every extra little detail that Twilight let out every once-in-awhile, things such as "Elements of Harmony," "Discords," etc. Unfortunately, Twilight subconsciously grouped Misato as a dumb carnivorous brute, so while she was rambling on about details, not thinking that Misato would pay attention, Misato had learned a great deal about this "Magical Land."

Of course, that didn't mean she considered any of it fact. In actuality, Misato didn't believe all that junk, not for a moment, and thought the strange horse in front of her to be some an insane lab escapee. Although it did sort of explain the glowing horn and screaming Shinji a while back. She would file that information away later.

She sighed. It was going to be a long night, and she still had to figure out what to do with the "alien" sitting across from her. Why, tonight of all nights, did her cell phone's contract have to expire? Now she had no one to call!

Misato glanced towards the closed door leading to the living room on her right, her mind drifting slightly to the unconscious boy she placed there on the couch 10 minutes ago.

* * *

10 minutes ago~

Shinji was not used to having something shoved in his mouth while he was screaming.

Shinji laid in the now mostly empty bathtub naked, eyes wide with shock and fear as to what was transpiring. On top of him was Twilight Sparkle, who also had the same look in her eyes but for different reasons, mainly for Shinji's blood curdling scream. Her hoof was also in his mouth (tasted like blueberries, very tangy).

Surrounding them was a centimeter of water and one Element of Harmony that found its way to the corner of the room. The water in the tub had cushioned Shinji from Twilight's drop just enough so that he wouldn't be feeling it in the hips the next day. Unfortunately, about three quarters of the contents of the 42-gallon sized tub was now splattered all over the floor, drenching the entire room as well as a very ornate tiara in hot bath water.

The pair were left in an awkward position. Some would even consider it 'hot' or romantic. With the situation they were in, with Twilight sitting on top of Shinji, her hoof in his mouth and their eyes locked on to the other, had it been a middle aged man with sexual fantasies for candy colored horses, they would find the situation an erotic dream come true.

Unfortunately, Shinji was not that sort of person at the moment. He was, after all, only a 14-year-old boy who just a minute ago was having a awfully depressing monologue about his tragic life in only his birthday suit. So, instead of imagining all the kinky and sexy things he could be having with Twilight Sparkle, all he saw was a _giant purple people eater_.

Thoughts raced through his head. What was this thing? Was it a monster? An alien? Some escaped science experiment that gave people heart attacks? How was he supposed to know?! And where was Misato when he needed her?! He just screamed at the top of his lungs for crying out loud!

* * *

Meanwhile, in the kitchen~

Misato sighed as she heard an ear piercing scream come from the bathroom.

"Pen Pen must be scaring poor Shinji witless again. I swear, that penguin can be so immature..." Misato said, not noticing the irony of her own statement.

Misato carried the steak she was cooking onto Shinji's plate before taking a swig of beer from the counter. "Yebisu" was labeled on the can. "Ahhh, it's things like these that make living worthwhile!" she said a little too happily as a blush formed under her eyes.

Unbeknownst to her, a penguin entered the room from the living room with a can of Yebisu in its claws and turned left towards a large fridge. It pushed a button on the side before a small door slid open, allowing it to walk inside and sit on a miniature couch before the door slid closed.

* * *

Back in the bathroom~

"L-look, I know you're scared, uh, whatever you are... B-but there's no need to panic!" Twilight nervously said, sweating like a pig as her eyes darted back and forth.

She then noted she had unconsciously stuck her hoof in his mouth while he was screaming, which was sure to have probably scared him more..

She pulled it out, leaving a slightly calmed down but still scared-as-hell sputtering Shinji.

"S-see? Look, I-I'm not dangerous or anything!" Twilight said as she nervously laughed to herself.

Twilight had been speaking English (it was an archaic term, now more commonly known as Equestrian Common, but that's a different story) since she first got here. Unfortunately for her, Shinji was and only spoke Japanese and had not taken English as a language class the prior year in 7th grade. All he heard from her was incomprehensible gibberish.

Shinji, in his own "moonspeak," managed to reply through the fear, "I-I'm sorry, b-but I don't understand what y-you're saying."

Twilight blinked. This thing didn't speak English? Preposterous! Every living being spoke or at least could understand Equestrian Common. It has been the world's official language for 1600 years!

Shinji was still having a panic attack in front of her, and she didn't know what to do! She started looking around muttering to herself. "Come on, think, Twilight, there must be some way..." She then gasped as she remembered and old spell that her mentor had taught her when the should the situation ever arise. "The 'language comprehension' spell! Why didn't I think of it before?"

She did have a history of pulling out rather exotic magicka out from nowhere. Oh well, better for her she guessed.

She looked at Shinji again with a determined look on her face, her eyes slightly narrowing. "Don't worry, uh, whatever you are. I know a spell that will fix everything!" She bit her lower lip as she concentrated on her Deus Ex Machina, focusing her magic into her horn as it produced a pinkish glow.

Shinji looked into the eyes of a rapist and screamed... again.

Without properly thinking, Shinji moved his right leg suddenly upward to try and get out of the tub and get away from the alien.

This however caused the opposite of the intended effect, as a surprised, wide-eyed Twilight was launched forward into Shinji's face.

In a pure stroke of bad (or to the aforementioned dreamers, good) luck, their lips connected. Moments passed.

Twilight turned redder than Apple Bloom's mane.

Shinji couldn't take the insanity anymore and lost it.

"_GYAAAH!"_

Using all the strength and sanity he could muster, he quickly pushed a very embarrassed Twilight off his chest and onto her back before jumping out of the bathtub and tripping on the wet floor.

Twilight looked into the ceiling with a dazed look, her eyes rolling around in circles. "Oww... Maybe doing that wasn't such a good idea after all..."

"_MISATO!_" Twilight heard Shinji scream, snapping her back to attention on the matter at hoof; keeping him from getting help.

Shinji stumbled on the drenched, soggy and slippery floor before sliding the door that went into the washroom open. To his left was the kitchen where Misato was, his only form of help. (He never did question why the bathroom was so close to the kitchen.) Not far behind him was a mare, intent on stopping him, which to him, was actually intent on molesting him.

He opened the yellow curtain separating himself from his salvation, spotting his guardian at the table across from him casually drinking a can of beer. "MI-MI-MI-MISATO! TH-THERE'S A T-THING!"

Misato blinked twice in confusion and put her beer down. "Haven't you already met Pen Pen?" she asked.

"NO I-I I ITS I DON KNOW I ITS-GYAAH!" That was all Shinji managed to incoherently blurt out before he felt something ram into his back at a breakneck speed, knocking the air out of his lungs.

Misato watched with an incredulous look as Shinji was tackled into the ground by something purple, creating a loud *_THUD_* that shook the table and almost knocked her half-finished Yebisu to the floor.

It was going to be another one of those days.

Sighing depressingly before silently looking over the table to check on Shinji's condition, she rose an eyebrow at the sight before her. Was that a miniature unicorn pony on top of Shinji?

She rubbed her eyes a couple times to clear her vision and make sure she wasn't seeing things. Nope, the thing was still sitting on top of Shinji, still doing something weird with its horn.

She sat back down, took her beer can, and looked inside at the tan colored liquid before quietly placing it on the table as far away from her as possible. Maybe it wasn't a good idea for her to have 10 cans in one day.

Misato heard it grunt a bit, inciting her curiosity again as she peaked over the table once more at her supposed hallucination. Shinji was now tied up in ropes around the wrists and ankles behind the back with the pony having an almost evil looking grin on its face.

"Now that you're all tied up, I don't have to worry about you running off for help! Now hold still this time so I can actually cast my spell on you!" Misato heard the thing in front of her speak eagerly as it tapped Shinji in the head with its glowing horn.

Huh, a talking, english-speaking mutant horse. It wasn't everyday she saw something like that.

_Although, this isn't the first time I've seen something like this either._

Unlike the gagging and foaming boy on the floor, Misato knew how to speak English, along with Chinese and Arabic (It came with being a government official).

She of course had trouble fluently speaking all 3 languages, Chinese being the easiest, but she did however understand all of them fluently, allowing her to understand every word it had said.

Oh, and now she was thinking to herself again at the worst possible time. Priorities Misato, priorities. Better do something before her boy gets raped or something. That smile didn't look safe after all.

Twilight's horn stopped glowing before she spoke in perfect Japanese, "Much better! Hopefully, I can sort this whole thing out befo-"

Misato knelt down and grabbed Twilight by her horn tightly before dragging her away from Shinji, causing Twilight to let out a loud gasp of surprise.

"Uh oh..." Twilight said softly, her eyes shrinking into pinpricks as the situation turned from bad to worse. The attention she was trying to prevent was now on her, and the thing she tackled earlier's backup now had its hand on her nerve-filled horn. As long as her sensitive horn was covered, she couldn't cast any magic!

Twilight watched with fearful eyes as Misato brought her closer to her face. "T-t-this is just a big misunderstanding, r-really! I wasn't trying to hurt anypony!"

"Uh huh," Misato deadpanned as she looked the unicorn over, absorbing every small detail.

Twilight's imagination going into overdrive. What was it going to do to her? Maybe it would throw her into a dark and scary dungeon. Or maybe it would fatten and tender her up then eat her alive. Or even worse, it would throw her into a dark and scary dungeon, fatten and tender her up, then eat her alive!

She squeezed her eyes shut and focused. No! This was not the time to be panicking! She had beaten things bigger and scarier than some naked ape! So, what if she couldn't use her magic, she still had her mind, she just had to outsmart the vile beast!

"H-hey, don't hurt me! Listen, I-I'm a magical genie that can grant anypony three _wishes_ of anything within my power! If you let go of my horn, I'll let you have those wishes! Promise!" Twilight proclaimed, before wincing how stupid that sounded. Not even a diamond dog would fall for such a-

Misato let go of her horn. Twilight blinked.

A pink flash of light later and Twilight was on the other side of the kitchen near the open door to the living room, which to her delight also seemed to lead to a balcony and the outside! "Ah ha! You fell for one of the oldest tricks in the book!"

"Oh no, you tricked me! And I really wanted those wishes too!" Misato wailed as she walked leisurely over to one of the kitchen drawers, taking out an object that was hidden from Twilight's view.

"Well tough love baby! You don't always get what you want!" Twilight triumphantly replied before she began charging towards the balcony, her freedom. "I, on the other hand, am not getting eaten today! I have my freedom b-"

*THUD*

Misato casually walked over to the unconscious mare, who had mistakenly ran into one of the reflection-reducing plexiglass windows that separated the living room from the outside. "Well, I guess I did get one of my wishes granted after all!" She giggled fiddling with a roll of duct tape in her hands. "Now, how am I going to get my revenge for that little stunt you pulled there?"

* * *

Twilight awoke to the sound of breathing, and opened her eyes to find herself sitting on the floor, her captor's face only an inch from her muzzle. Misato smiled wide, showing off her incisors in particular.

Twilight screamed.

Well she tried, but all that game was a muffled "MMMPH".

She tried bucking Misato, but found that her legs wouldn't move either.

She didn't even try to use her magic, that distinct feeling of something wrapped around her horn outshone the feeling of duct tape wrapped around her legs and mouth.

Dread filled her.

She slowly stopped struggling as she finally understood how hopeless everything was now. There was nothing she could do. No way for her to escape or fight back. She didn't have her friends here this time, no one to help her. It was over now. Her achievements, her glories, and the bonds she had formed with her friends, all of it gone, and she didn't even know why.

And that _thing_ kept smiling that infuriating grin!

Misato waited for the mare in front of her to slowly stop struggling before she slowly and gingerly pulled off the polyethylene-coated tape off Twilight's mouth. "Wow, you were out for an entire 5 minutes! You must have hit yourself pretty hard huh?"

"W-w-what are you going to d-do to me?" Twilight asked through her quivering lips, her life flashing before her eyes.

Misato mischievously grinned, purposely showing off her carnivorous canines to Twilight, terrifying her as tears began breaking out from her wide eyes. "What am I going to do with you? Hmm, well since you asked so nicely, I'll let you in on what's going to happen."

"First I'm going to lock you in my dark and scary basement, where I'll torture you without end with no one around to hear you scream." Misato said cheerfully as she slid a finger down Twilight's stomach, causing her to shiver.

"Then, I'm going to make you all nice, round, and plump before making you all tender and smooth." she added with a sincere smile as she gently pulled at Twilight's cheek (and wow was it stretchy!), causing her to tremble at the lips.

"And then finally, when you're broken, fat, and tender, *SNAP*," Misato finished as she chomped down her teeth loudly only an inch from Twilight's muzzle, eliciting a high-pitched squeal from the poor mare as Twilight began crying.

_I didn't get to even say good bye to my friends... Please, dear Celestia, don't let it end like this!_

"That is unless...," Misato whispered quietly.

Twilight's ears perked up as she looked up at her kneeling predator, hope swelling in her heart.

She didn't notice that Misato had begun slowly taking off the tape wrapped around her body.

"You do everything I say. For now, you tell me what you are, where you're from, and how you got into my apartment. Deal?" Misato asked with her hands on her hips as she stood up.

Twilight eagerly nodded.

Misato gave a sincere smile.

* * *

~Present

Hope/Despair

The long road of route 40 was pitch dark, the night had blanketed the mountainside with its pure darkness. All the road lamps were shattered, their tiny invisible blades scattered all over the sides of the road.

Not a wave of sound could be heard across the landscape. The dead sea, once vibrant, now still as a corpse. The silent winds, once offering their music, now offering no tunes to the ground.

A cold naked boy ran without end from an unseen terror behind him as he travelled down the road, racing for an unknown but vibrant light ahead of him.

He ran for the light, carrying all his hatred, sadness, and despair. The cold night did not deter him one bit as his raw bare feet pounded constantly on the hard and unforgiving Earth.

And as he ran, he prayed. As anyone would, he prayed for some clothes, he prayed not to be chased, and he prayed for someone to get him the hell outta there.

But deeper inside if one knew what to look for, he prayed for warmth, peace, and friends. He prayed for love. He wanted to someone to love him, to warm him from the cold, to give him peace from the dread, and to be his friend in his dark time of need.

But that's all it was unfortunately: a prayer. For as he ran for his life, he journeyed alone, a lone soul in a sea of life.

Maybe at his destination, he would find what he was looking for. Maybe as he held onto the hope in his heart, the light would grant him his wish and save him from the terror. Maybe, he wouldn't have to carry all his hatred, sadness, and despair alone anymore. Maybe finally, he could be warm, he could be at peace, he could have a friend. And even maybe, he would find the love that he oh so deeply searched and longed for.

And as he came closer and closer to the light, it revealed the unseen terror as a lifeless but living giant crawling towards the boy with its arms, its lower body torn away leaving hundreds of fleshy legs being dragged from its rotting torso. It pulled against differently colored wires that tied it to the abyss, its mouthless face crying tears of blood from its empty eye sockets as it crawled relentlessly towards the boy at the center of its vision.

The boy wasn't afraid though, as hope began to grow within his woebegone heart. It was only a few meters ahead now, he was drawing closer to his salvation. Maybe he could finally be happy in a world that only granted him darkness.

A featureless, horned and winged beast emerged from the light, shocking and scaring the boy before embracing him with its love and friendship.

The boy was pulled into the light.

The boy only found pain and suffering.

The boy never found his happiness.

Shinji woke up with a gasp, snapping his eyes open and then regretting the decision as light flooded his retinas.

He slowly opened his eyes as he regained consciousness, staring into a tiled wall with a bright light that greeted his vision.

_Another unfamiliar ceiling... Probably not the last._

Shinji sighed before he gradually sat himself up, grunting as his hurting body groaned in response. He blankly looked around at his surroundings, his mind slightly groggy for some reason that escaped him. He recognized the familiar feeling of corduroy on his hands as he pushed himself up.

"H-how did I end up in the living room?" Shinji blankly asked himself, realizing he had been sleeping on the only sofa in the apartment.

He also felt a bit of a draft all over his body, almost as if he were naked.

But that was not important right now.

What **was** important was how he ended up sleeping. He slowly tried recalling the events that had led up to this point as he massaged his aching head.

Misato seductively teasing him during breakfast... Check...

Kids crowding around him as the new gossip news at school... Check...

Getting beat up by a "Brad" on his first day of school... Check...

Pilot Simulations... Check...

Blood-Curdling Screaming... "Wait, why would I be screaming?"

Shinji tried recalling the specific event which led him to do such a thing, which much to his chagrin drew a blank.

He groaned softly in frustration, rubbing his face in an attempt to rid himself of the drowsy haze in the back of his head.

Maybe he should ask Misato, she would probably know what happened. In fact, it really wouldn't surprise him if _she_ really was the reason behind it.

Speaking of his guardian, he could hear her cheery high-pitched voice coming faintly from the kitchen. But who in the world could she be talking to?

Well, he needed to ask her a question anyway, might as well find out.

Shinji slowly moved his bare feet to the carpet floor and pushed himself off the two-seater sofa, carefully stepping over some cut brown rope and clothes that he had found odd doing out in the middle of nowhere before making his way to the slide-open kitchen door.

"...and remember, as long as you're staying here, you will listen to everything I say, got that? Try anything funny and I won't help you find your way home and you'll be my dinner instead, crystal?" he heard Misato's voice penetrate the somewhat thin doors, speaking to an unknown third-party.

Not in the mood for eavesdropping, Shinji casually opened the door. "Misato? Who are you talking to..."

On his right sitting at the kitchen table was his carefree guardian, Misato, with a can of Yebisu in her hands. On his left sitting across from her was a purple horned thing.

Shinji could only stare blankly at it.

It stared back with wide violet eyes.

Misato only smiled. "Oh, you're awake Shinji. I hope you enjoyed your 1 hour nap! Just in time too; I was about to wake you up and introduce you to our newest guest,"

She pointed towards the lone elephant, or in this case pony, in the room. "This here is Twilight Sparkle. Isn't she just the cutest thing?" She giggled. "Say hi to Shinji now! Come on, don't be shy!"

A nervous Twilight sheepishly smiled. "Ahehe, h-hi there. N-nice to meet you, Shinji," she said in perfect Japanese.

An awkward pause filled the kitchen.

Ahh, _now_ he remembered what happened.

"HKKKKK," Shinji gagged with his mouth open, slowly bringing up his finger and pointing at the lone mare.

"What's the matter, cat got your tongue, Shinji?" Misato asked with a carefree grin.

"Mi-Mi-Mi-Misato, t-that's the thing!" Shinji managed to let out through his shaky teeth.

"Uh-huh." Misato kept smiling.

"T-that's the thing that ambushed me in the bathroom," Shinji added, with a hint of annoyance that she wasn't taking this seriously.

"Yup!" Misato said cheerfully as she grabbed a beer can from somewhere and snapped the can open.

"Why aren't you taking this seriously?! It could have _killed_ me!" Shinji exasperatedly shouted, his fear of Twilight entirely gone and instead filled with annoyance at Misato's lack of concern.

Twilight's nose scrunched up a bit, insulted that he would even suggest she would do such a thing.

"Well you're not dead now, so stop worrying about it. Besides, how could this cute little thing hurt anyone?" Misato replied as she ruffled Twilight's mane, earning her a disapproving look from the mare before Misato took a mouthful of her sugar-filled alcohol.

"IT TRIED TO SUFFOCATE ME WITH ITS _MOUTH_**,** MISATO!"

4 oz. of beer mixed with a tad bit of Misato's saliva completely drenched Shinji's upper body. Twilight hadn't revealed _that_ to her.

She sat her beer down on the table before she handed a nearby towel she had lying around to a very annoyed looking Shinji, before glancing towards Twilight with a raised eyebrow.

"Not trying to molest 'anypony', eh?" she said to Twilight with a smug look as the mare's face magically turned redder than an apple.

Her reason for embarrassment was lost to Shinji for a moment before he realized what Misato was probably thinking. Knowing her, it wasn't cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

As the two began stammering and failing terribly at explaining what happened to Misato, she donned a childish smile filled with mischief as she teased the two. "Say, why are you guys _so_ flustered, hmm? You're both blushing like tomatoes."

She put her hand to her mouth as she giggled. "Oh I see, I would have never guessed that you were into _that_ kinda thing Shinji, you little devil. And you, my little Twilight Sparkle, my, so forward!"

"It-it-it wasn't l-like that!" Shinji and Twilight both hysterically said at the same time as they both turned redder and redder.

Misato couldn't stop laughing as she held her sides for an entire minute, never having a good laugh like this since ages long forgotten.

Shinji's blush disappeared as he visibly grimaced with a slight frown at his guardian's antics, already familiar with her immature type of teasing. Twilight on the other hand was still a little red, staring and pawing at the carpet floor embarrassed.

Misato wiped a tear from her eye, still giggling a bit at her little fun. "Ahahahah, my sides... you kids are so easy to tease."

Twilight stopped pawing at the ground before narrowing her eyes at Misato.

"I'll have you know I'm actually a full grown adult."

"Oh? And when were you born exactly?" Misato snidely asked.

Twilight grinned and proudly stated, "I was born on March 30th, 2001. That makes me 14 years old **and** a full grown adult."

Misato snorted before she began giggling again, making Twilight feel embarrassed again. "W-what's so funny? You don't believe me?"

Shinji watched the exchange between his guardian and the thing that molested him not too long ago with a confused expression, not interested in what it was about but rather on why it was happening. The two were talking to each other like they knew each other. He would've understood if Misato was acting this way to a random guy off the street, but this thing wasn't human. Wasn't Misato scared about the strange thing in her apartment? What was going on?

"Oh it's not that I don't believe you," she began to giggle slightly, "it's just that, well, you're the same age as mah boi Shinji here," Misato replied as Twilight went wide eyed.

"I'm... the age of a child here?" Twilight whispered to herself as images of Magic Kindergarten filled her mind.

"Huh?" Shinji absently said at the mention of his name before an empty beer can hit his forehead. "Oww..."

"Geez, stop spacing out all the time. I said she's the same age as you!" an annoyed Misato said.

"She?" asked Shinji as he rubbed his head, bewildered at how Misato knew that. Just because it sound like a girl didn't mean it was one.

"Yes Shinji, it's a she. Why, do you need me to show you proof?" Misato deadpanned as she slowly moved her hand towards the mare's tail.

Ah. That's how she found out. Shinji sweat dropped as he rapidly shook his head and hands. "N-n-no thanks Misato, I-I'm good."

"Hmph, you're no fun," she pouted before slapping Twilight in the flank, causing her to yelp. "Stop daydreaming and wake up already!"

Shinji watched with a dumbstruck expression.

"The reason why I planned on waking you up earlier, Shinji, was that I wanted to talk about our new guest," she said as she pointed to the now-recovered Twilight, who was looking curiously at Misato.

"Oh, alright. Well, what about?" he replied.

Misato closed her eyes and smiled. "Well for starters, since it's the middle of the night and I haven't figured out what to do with her yet, she'll be staying here overnight!"

A horrified face stared back at her as she kept smiling. "_WHAT_?!"

Twilight already knew all this, as Misato had already briefed her about it earlier.

"Secondly, all the rooms I have here are currently full right now. So, since your room is always so empty Shinji, you two will be sleeping together! Won't that be fun?!" Misato cheerfully added.

That was new.

"_HUH_?!" came two shrill voices. Misato wasn't even fazed.

"And finally, I want you two to get to know each other, which means no escaping into the living room couch, Shinji. Twilight here is supposed to know all sorts of friendship techniques, so I'm sure you'll become best of buddies in no time."

Twilight gaped as Shinji sputtered. "Ah...Wha...You..."

"Bu-bu-but I've never slept in the same room as a s-stallion before. A-and I've never read anything about it either!" Twilight stammered as she fiddled with her hooves.

"Well, there's a first time for everything, isn't that right, Shinji?"

"Y-you've gotta be kidding! W-who are _you_ to be making all these arbitrary decisions?" Shinji said angrily. "How do you expect me to be able to sleep with the thing that ambushed me in the bathroom? She's not even _human_! It's crazy!"

Although the statement was true, Twilight nevertheless felt hurt by his statement. She was being treated like some horrid and wicked monster that ate little fillies in their sleep. And deep down, she felt like she deserved it (she did shove her hoof down his throat after all).

"Oh but Shinji dear, that wasn't a request; it was an order," Misato said a little too sweetly.

"But-" Shinji froze, a chill filling the room.

Misato opened her eyes into menacing slits, her smile still broadly shining. Shinji thought he could see a forked tongue flailing at him. "What part of '_Commanding Officer_' don't you _understand_?"

Shinji gulped. Twilight looked at Misato, horrified.

_I thought Fluttershy was the only one who could do the stare!_

Misato sighed. "Just, think of her as another roomie. And now that you've met," Misato paused to throw his pajamas at him. "Why don't you go cover up? You're going to catch a cold like that, unless you're comfortable with Twilight having a full view."

Shinji caught his clothes with a confused look on his face. What was she talking about?

"What's wrong with not wearing any clothes?" Twilight innocently asked.

Shinji blinked and looked at himself. He had been stark naked the entire time.

"AAAGH!" Shinji gasped before quickly rushing himself into his room.

Twilight blinked, still confused. She walked around naked all the time. What was wrong with that?

"And there will be no complaints from you either, right, Twilight?" Misato asked from behind her.

Twilight turned back towards her. "I-I don't know, I don't really know him all that well either. I-I did sort of traumatize him in the bathroom after all, so I don't really-" Twilight stopped herself as Misato made that familiar gesture with her teeth.

Twilight gulped. "N-n-no complaints here, ma'am."

Misato smiled. "Good, so kick back and make yourself comfortable, kay?"

Twilight nodded dumbly.

Misato giggled. "I'm going to be taking a nice hot bath in the meantime, so tell Shinji for me that his dinner is on the table waiting for him when he comes out, kay?" She said as she walked into the bathroom. She screamed later, "There's water _everywhere_!"

Twilight laughed embarrassedly to herself, before she looked towards the table in the kitchen, the now-cold cooked cow meat sitting nicely in a flower patterned plate standing out to her. She shivered.

_I hope that's not going to be me later._

Her own stomach then grumbled, as she realized that she herself hasn't had dinner yet either. And in a land of carnivores, what was she supposed to eat here?

* * *

***SLURP***

Shinji watched in awe with his mouth open at the unusual spectacle before him, his attention on a pink glowing fork that floated around and moved with life-given precision, bringing squiggly tan noodles to Twilight's mouth as she ate.

"Wow, this stuff is really good! You're a really good cook!" Twilight exclaimed as she practically inhaled the noodles in a styrofoam bowl.

Shinji's recently microwaved steak sat on the table without a bite as it grew cold again.

"O-oh it's nothing really, but uh...thanks," he replied, more a mechanical response built from years of habit rather than an actual thought-out reply, too busy staring at Twilight's magically covered horn.

Twilight made one last loud slurping noise as she sucked in the final bits of the soft and tasty carbohydrates still sitting in the bowl before having a content look on her face. "That really hit the spot!" she said happily. "I'm sorry for repeating myself, but thank you for making this for me, really. You would not _believe_ how hungry I was earlier. What kind of noodles are these by the way?" she asked as she tried reading the words on the side of the bowl with her newly-absorbed language.

Shinji, who was now just staring at the fork, which had now lost its glow and simply sat on the table as Twilight no longer needed it, snapped to attention at her question.

"Hmm? Oh, it's a korean style ramen, an instant noodle that takes about 3 minutes to make with just some hot water. I would have made you something else, but this is all we really have at the moment."

He laughed a bit to himself. "Sorry about that, uh, Twilight Sparkle, right?"

She nodded with a smile on her face, "Mmhm, that's right! But you can just call me Twilight." She then motioned towards the noodles. "But, um, I thought you were a carnivore. But what you gave me is a carbohydrate-based food, stuff only herbivores like me eat. Why would you even have it?"

Shinji, whose attention was towards poking his steak with a fork, replied, "Humans are omnivores, not carnivores. We don't just eat meat; we can eat a lot of other things too."

Twilight became confused. "But I thought you were a Korean. What's a human?"

Shinji shook his head. "Human is the species name, and I'm Japanese to be precise. Koreans are kinda like a sub-type of human," he replied with the best explanation he could come up with at the moment for the foreign alien.

"Oh I see, like Earth Ponies, Pegasi, and Unicorns right?" Twilight replied.

Shinji blinked at her with a confused look. "Um, sure," he responded quietly.

Twilight giggled at his expression. "You're a pretty quiet guy, ya know? You're not even asking me any questions! Like about what I am, where I'm from, why I was in your- um..." Twilight stopped herself, realizing she had almost mentioned the sour incident in the bathroom. "I-I apologize that I didn't say this earlier, but I'm sorry that I, uh, scared you and, well, kinda attacked you," she said, blushing to herself as she found the table leg particularly interesting to look at.

Shinji put a small piece of steak in his mouth, chewing tiredly before responding. "It's fine, I've had worse things happen to me, actually. I just figured you wouldn't have given me any answers about yourself, even if I asked."

Twilight shook her head with a smile. "Nope, ask me anything and I'll answer it. I don't have a lot to keep secret, so ask away!"

Shinji resumed to just watching himself poke his steak with his fork. "Well, I haven't really thought of any questions to ask you... So..."

"O-oh, I see." Twilight expression saddened as she looked at the ground, hoping in her heart that she could truly befriend the "human" she ambushed earlier through conversation. Not because of what Misato had threatened but because she was still feeling guilty. Unfortunately, it looked like that effort was about to end here.

Shinji noticed the sad mare across the table and sighed, her pained appearance wrecking his heart. He put his fork on his plate and pushed the steak away from him.

_Why does everyone have to hurt me?_

Now what could he ask her? Well, he didn't know what she was yet, so he guessed he could ask that. "What are you exactly? Do you have a name for your kind?"

Twilight immediately brightened, although with a confused look. "I'm a pony, a unicorn from the country of Equestria to be exact. You don't know what I am? Odd. Misato seemed to know what I was, or at least something to relate to."

Shinji sighed. Again, someone berating him for not knowing something. That's what he got for asking questions."Misato is a lot older than I am, and I'm told that the Earth had a lot more variety in species 15 years ago before most of them went extinct, so she probably recognized you as one of them."

He gazed out into the night sky through the next door living room's slide-open glass door. "I've never really had an interest about learning about the past, so I don't know too much about the old world other than what they teach in class at school."

_I've never really had an interest in anything really. I've always just let life take me where it takes me. That's all life seems good for anyway._

Twilight wondered what had happened all those years ago, before Shinji got up and put his meal in whatever room that wasn't Yebisu or Doritos in the fridge. It would be sitting there for some time to come.

"I'm not really that hungry right now, so I think I'll just go to bed now. I've already set up your own futon in my room for you, so come in whenever you please..." he said tiredly as he began to walk out of the kitchen.

Twilight smiled at him, unaware of his own inner turmoil. "Oh, that's so nice of you! And again, thank you for the meal! I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship, don't you?" She winced as she realized how forward that sounded. "Um, I am your friend, right?"

Shinji paused before he walked out the door and faced her with an awkward smile. "Oh, yeah, sure."

_Friends, huh?_

"Well, um, enjoy yourself, I guess."

As Shinji slowly walked out of the kitchen, Twilight could only look on with sorrow and think about that awkward smile that he gave her. A forced and fake smile built up from years of habit.

_Did I say something wrong?_

* * *

Shinji laid on his dark blue futon with his S-DAT in his right hand, idly listening to his "From Beethoven 9" as he gazed at the ceiling.

Three feet away from him on a golden yellow futon slept his new roomate, Twilight Sparkle, snuggling in his pure white blanket that he had given her when they both couldn't find anymore left.

_Twilight Sparkle... She's not a bad person... And she seems to be really nice..._

"But," he murmured to himself. "Everybody, even friends, always hurt me in the end."

Unbeknownst to him, Twilight had not been engrossed into her world of dreams.

The S-DAT's second track ended at 4:01 minutes before moving onto the third song.

* * *

It was debatable on several levels whether it was healthy to live a life with Misato, with her odd eating habits, beer consumption, and lax attitude that led to some embarrassing situations. Of course, no one could ever argue about her absolutely gorgeous figure.

Her very gifted body rested in a tub of hot water, the same one where Shinji had a freakout about an hour earlier. Around the bathtub was about 10 beach towels, all soaking wet with lukewarm water.

Oddly enough, if one were to enter the room as it was now, the first thing they would have noticed would surprisingly not be either the towel-filled room nor Misato's well-endowed chest, but rather instead a large, gold, curvy, and ornate crown with a large pink and majestic 6-pointed star at its top.

A gold crown currently being held in Misato's left hand.

"An animal from old European mythology, a mythological magic-wielding unicorn that calls itself Twilight Sparkle, packed with its own history, personality, and culture. Either this is some well-planned-out prank by the Bio-division after I sneaked Pen Pen away from them, or this is the real deal..." Misato whispered to herself in deep concentration, looking into the dim ceiling light.

"Not only that, but it was able to speak English, a human language of all things, before it cast a so called 'spell' on Shinji to learn to speak Japanese somehow instantaneously," she added as she looked off to the side. "She even used the same Gregorian calendar system as humans do."

She bit her bottom lip. "But the strangest thing, other than the plausible stories she told me earlier, is her similarity to the frozen horse NERV's Science Division dug-up in one of the high mountain ranges in the States.

"Although Twilight doesn't have both wings and a horn like the one we discovered, her body shape is almost exactly the same. She even had a tattoo on her flank, even though it wasn't of a feather in a bottle of ink. It does fit her story of what cutie marks are, and even explain why they weren't able to remove that odd tattoo from Specimen LF. Could they somehow be connected?

"And how in the world did she find herself on top of the Third Child? There was only one entrance into the bathroom, and I was watching it the entire time! And I'm pretty sure it didn't just waltz into my apartment either; Pen-Pen would have told me.

"The only way any of this works is if her story was true, but it just seems too... _perfect_. The way she described her world is like out of a story for children. Could all this just be coincidence, or is there something darker in the works here?"

She sighed to herself as she laid back in her tub again. "Maybe I'm just being paranoid, and all this is just a really bad stroke of luck." She snorted. "Doesn't mean I have to like it though."

She finally brought the crown up to her face, looking into the pink star-shaped crystal at its top. Staring back at her was a pure white curvy earth pony with a dark purple mane. Both narrowed their eyes at each other.

"I _really_ do wonder though... What role do you play in all of this, Element of Magic?"

* * *

The morning sun shone brightly into the apartment room, showering everything in its view with its pure sunlight.

Shinji had already left the complex to walk to his school about five miles away from there.

In Misato's room was a large amount of trash, trinkets, and beer cans scattered everywhere. Sitting in the middle was Misato happily drinking the final bits of her morning beer before there were several knocks on her slide-open door.

"Come in!" she called out.

The door slid open, revealing a sad-looking Twilight. Well, mostly sad, until she looked around Misato's living space. "What happened to your _room_?!"

Misato tilted her head. "Hmm? Oh, I'm just a really messy person. You should have seen the apartment before Shinji came and helped clean it up. It's only a little messy really."

Twilight's orderly and obsessive-compulsive personality began to take a hold of her as she looked around the trash-filled room, trembling. Was that a sleeping penguin sitting on top of a drawer with a bag of chips over his beak? "T-t-t-this i-i-is a l-l-little m-messy?"

Misato giggled at those words. "You know, Shinji asked me those exact same words when he first arrived. Speaking of Shinji, how was your first night's sleep with him? Did you guys do anything _special_?" she teased.

Twilight immediately forgot about the state of the room and blushed a tiny bit at the question. "I-I had a good night's rest, I think. A-and ne-ne-no, I-I-I d-didn't, u-u-u-um." Twilight found it increasingly harder for herself to form words as her face heated up.

Misato giggled some more at her embarrassed expression. "That's alright, I completely understand your need to keep quiet about your little _adventures_."

"P-please s-stop teasing me..." Twilight muttered. It would be awhile before she got used to Misato's antics.

She pouted. "Oh, you're no fun either. So what did you want to see me about? I was about to leave for work."

Twilight twirled her hooves in small circles. "Its about Shinji..."

Misato gave her a confused look. "I thought you didn't want to be teased anymore."

"It's not that. It's just that, for someone who is supposed to be my age, he seems really down. Jaded even." Twilight sighed and sat on her haunches, looking down at the ground with a pained expression. "Yesterday, he was being really nice to me. Even though he said some pretty hurtful things after he woke up, it seemed like he just forgot all about what happened in the bathroom and started treating me like a friend. After all that I did to him, he didn't give me any dirty looks, talked nicely to me, and even cooked edible food for me when he could have just given me meat," she said quietly before she looked off to the side.

"When I asked him if we were friends, he looked so hurt, as if I brought up some really bad memories by saying that... Did I... Did I say something wrong?"

Misato sighed as well. "You didn't say anything wrong, Twilight. He's probably not even mad at you for anything really."

Twilight looked up at her with a bit of hope. "You think so?"

Misato nodded in agreement. "In fact, the way he acted towards you is really just how he acts to everybody. He was like that to me even though I suddenly forced him to live here."

Twilight gave her a baffled expression. "Y-you forced him to live with you? You mean you're not actually his mom? Why?"

"Same reason why I wanted you two get to know each other, and the reason behind Shinji feeling hurt when you mentioned being friends," she said before she finished the last few sips of her beer. "You see, Shinji's personality isn't really geared towards making friends. In fact, I'm pretty sure he doesn't want any, even though deep down there somewhere, he really does."

Twilight looked up towards Misato, confusion written all over her face. Not geared toward making friends? That's didn't make any sense. Either somepony wanted to become friends with others or somepony didn't. What did personality have to do with it?

"What do you mean?"

Misato got up and threw her beer can over her head without a care where it landed. "Have you ever heard of the 'Hedgehog's Dilemma?'"

"I-I never have, actually," Twilight sheepishly replied, feeling slightly ashamed that she didn't know something for once, especially in front of a new race. She was too used to being the 'if you don't know something, ask Twilight' back in Ponyville. "But what do hedgehogs have to with Shinji?"

Misato took off her yellow tank top, revealing her bare back to Twilight for a moment as she wrapped a bra around her chest. "Well, with hedgehogs, even if they want to get close to one another for warmth, the closer they get, the more they risk hurting each other with the spikes on their bodies."

Twilight remembered something like that actually, although it was with porcupines. It had only been a few months ago last year during the Winter Wrap Up when her friend Fluttershy was showing her and Spike what she did during the event: waking up animals from their hibernation. She had rung her little silver bell in front of a small den, in which 2 porcupines exited, yawned, and then hugged each other, covering themselves both in each other's barbs. Twilight had found it a little silly when she first saw it, giggling to herself silently at the time. But now with Misato talking about it, it didn't seem like something to laugh at anymore.

Misato continued while taking off her boxers and putting on white colored panties, "It's no different from people really. He's afraid about what will happen when he lets someone get too close; he's afraid of that pain. It's that which makes him pull away completely from others before they get the chance to know him."

Twilight thought back to the previous night, the way her new roommate had acted friendly towards her, but at the same time, secluding and protecting himself.

Misato began dressing herself in a tight, black dress. "He'll probably figure it out someday. The part of growing up is allowing yourself to get hurt sometimes, to keep letting people in until you can find that safe distance where you can be close without hurting each other too much."

"I hope you're right..." Twilight said quietly. Back in Equestria, after becoming friends with Applejack, Rainbow, Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Rarity, she thought she knew all there was about the concepts of friendship, and how to reach out and create the bonds of magic with each one. Now, in this new land with new creatures, she wasn't so sure anymore.

It was then that she noticed Misato leaving with a big brown box with tape all over it. "What's in the box?"

"Hmm? Oh, it's nothing, just something I need to bring to work." Misato replied nonchalantly. "Oh, and remember what I told you last night, alright? I don't want to be the one responsible for starting a panic in the city, so make sure you don't go anywhere, kay?"

Twilight nodded before Misato added cheerfully, "The TV is in the living room and the entire apartment is open to you, so go make yourself comfortable while I'm gone alright?"

"Alright." Twilight dumbly nodded again. What was a Tee Vee?

Misato smiled at her. "Well then, I'll see you later! Ciao!" she said before she left her room. Twilight then heard a door open outside before closing again.

Twilight walked into the living room, looking for something that was a 'Tee Vee' before looking out the apartment patio. It was really nice and sunny outside, and she still hadn't seen the city yet.

"Maybe I could take a little peek..." she whispered to herself.

She shook her head. "No, I shouldn't break Misato's and Shinji's trust. Misato doesn't want me starting a panic."

She looked outside again. "Oh, but it's so nice outside!"

Well, a few teleports couldn't hurt, right?

And as she opened the glass door and looked out into the grand city, she couldn't help but wish Misato had told her what was inside that box. She couldn't get the feeling out that it was something important.

* * *

The Tokyo-3 First Municipal School was established around the same time 15 years ago in the year 2000 when Tokyo-3 first began construction over the small towns of Ubako and Sengokuhara within Hakone on the northern shore of Lake Ashinoko. It was built to be a fairly large school, with the intent and purpose of centering every student in the city into one school, from the 1st grade all the way to the 12th.

It was here in which Shinji was now attending school as a 9th grader, leaning over a steel railing at the top of one of the buildings that prevented a four-story fall. Because the institution was situated on a mountain with full view of the city, Shinji had a beautiful view of the grand fortress-like city.

Of course, nice things never last forever.

"Up on da' roof, all by his lonesome. The pitcher of da' tragic hero!" came a familiar voice from behind.

Shinji grimaced and turned from the beautiful view to face the offenders of his perfect tranquility. It was Toji and Kensuke, the duo who he had fought with the other day. Well, mostly Toji, but Shinji subconsciously considered Kensuke part of him.

At the moment, Toji had his arms crossed and his legs spread wide, a smug look on his face. Behind him, Kensuke simply waved with his right arm, his other pocketed in his pants. He had a nervous look on his face that radiated the words, 'sorry about this'.

Shinji sighed. "You guys again... What do you want now?"

Toji walked up closer to Shinji before pointing a finger in his face again. "MORON! What makes ya think we'd want anythin' from _you_?!"

"Oh, okay then. You must _really_ be bored to check up on me for no reason," Shinji replied nonchalantly as he turned to face the city again.

He didn't get the chance as Toji marched into his face and brought his finger upward toward Shinji's chin.

"I may not have a _reason _to be talkin' to you, but one thing's for sure! I hate yer guts**!"** Toji whispered angrily into his face, like something out of some overdramatic shōnen manga.

Shinji wasn't fazed in the slightest.

"Toji," Kensuke cautiously but sternly said from behind.

He ignored him, however, as he got even closer to Shinji, their faces only inches apart. "Dat hot-crap attitude of yers, dat mister innocent look on yer mug... Why I outta-"

"So you just came by to pick a fight with me... Is that it?" Shinji calmly said as he cut Toji's sentence off, but loud enough for Toji to hear.

His left eye twitched. "Why you-"

Shinji stepped to the right, away from the assaulter of his private space, interrupting Toji for the second time in a row.

Shinji then did something that surprised the two just like the day before: he smiled. "It's okay, if you don't like my attitude, I'll apologize. But then it's over. I can't afford to worry about how you'll feel every time I do something."

Toji stood still, listening to his strangely mature words.

"I can't be bothered by total strangers...or a total flake."

"Whaaa- hey!"

Shinji turned away and started walking away from the two, no real plan for where he was going. As long as it was away from them, it would be fine.

"You can't just walk away from a man-to-man conversation!" Toji yelled out to him.

"If you want to hit me again, that's fine with me," Shinji replied, before turning to face his antagonizer fully in the face. "But this time, **don't hold back**! Do it like you're trying to break an arm or two," Shinji continued, facing Toji and looking him directly in the eye without a hint of falseness in his face. He motioned with his right arm toward the steel railings. "If you want, you can even push me off this roof."

Toji's eyes widened as he sputtered, surprised again by Shinji's words. Who did he think he was challenging him to do something like that? Shinji thought he couldn't do something like that, the nerve! He'd show him!

"**FINE!**" Toji replied fiercely, veins popping out and puffing smoke from his nostrils like a bull. He clenched his fist and reared it back. "Remember, ya asked for it! Don't go cryin' ta nobody afterwords!"

"Not again," Kensuke sighed to himself as he prepared to stop Toji from doing anything rash like yesterday.

"Ikari..." came a quiet and soft voice.

Toji's fist hung motionless in the air. Everyone turned to look towards the owner of the voice.

It was a blue-haired girl with red eyes. She was a tad bit shorter than Shinji and was wearing the school's blue and white sailor _fuku_. Her right eye and the rest of the right side of her head was covered in pure but old white bandages. Her arm was set in a sling and bandaged as well.

The wind flowed through her hair and body as she spoke, her face devoid of all emotion.

"We just received an emergency call. I'll see you there," she said as she began walking away from them. "Bye."

Toji and Kensuke blankly watched as the girl ran off, Shinji following close behind. "Was that... Ayanami?" Kensuke spoke flabbergasted as he broke the silence. "Huh. So that's what she sounds like. Never heard her say something before."

Toji snorted. "Tch, emergency or not. You're still going to get it! You got that, pu- hey, where did he go?!"

Kensuke blinked. "...I think he managed to slip out of that one..."

"BITE ME!" Toji snarled.

* * *

Twilight Sparkle stood on the top of the tallest tower in the central block of the city. She was tired and magically drained after having completed several teleportation jumps. Standing on the ledge, she gazed at the city that was now her new home, at least until she could find a way back to Equestria. It had really only been a day since she had arrived here, and she was already amazed by the civilization of the beings that called themselves humans.

These humans had reached technological levels that far surpassed many of the known species in her world. From what she had observed so far, humans had been able to develop a system of weather control without the need of personal maintenance like what Equestria required with its Pegasi teams up in Cloudsdale. It was a simple deduction of course since she saw clouds up in the sky that day and no winged humans or anything tending to it.

They had also developed a unique form of transportation. Because humans were bipedal, they couldn't move as fast as a quadrupedal species like hers, and instead created a multitude of artificial machinations that helped them in their ability to get from one point to another. Many were even faster than a cheetah, the fastest recognized land animal known to ponykind!

Far at the edge of the city was what appeared to her to be a train and a train station. While Equestria too had trains, the trains here were more sleek and aerodynamic in appearance, and they didn't seem to run on rails like they trains did back home but rather on thick boxed-shaped metal rods. They also seemed to be powered by electricity rather than steam or magic, which in all honesty puzzled Twilight, as electricity was a luxury item back in Equestria.

And the size. Wow, it was huge! Tokyo-3, a name she had learned from looking at the various building writings, was a lot bigger than Manehatten, the largest city in Equestria, in both area and building size. The building she was currently standing on was even taller than the Crystal Empire's tower!

It was then that her ears twitched and picked up the distinct sound of Sirens echoing across the cityscape, snapping Twilight away from her amazement.

"**A Special state of emergency has been declared for the entire Central Kanto and Chubu regions, centering around the Tokai Region. All residents, please proceed to your designated shelters immediately. Repeat...**" An anonymous woman's voice boomed throughout every street, constantly repeating itself after every cycle.

Her eyes widened in surprise at the warning, although it was not the warning that surprised her. She had never known anyone other than Princess Celestia and Luna to be able to project their voices as loudly like the woman just had. Was this woman the Princess of the humans perhaps?

She shook her head. No! Now was not the time to be dwelling on trivial things like that. She could ask Misato later anyway.

The voice said to go to the nearest designated shelter, but where was that? She just got here yesterday, so should she just go back to the apartment?

Twilight snorted. She'd handled things like Nightmare Moon, Discord, and other super villains of Equestria. Whatever was going on, she could-

And then the city sank into the ground.

* * *

Next Time: "Harbinger of Tragedy"

Let Me Swing Among Those Stars

Authors Note: This site's mechanism for handling new chapters is absolutely HORRID. Anyway, I hope this chapter was worth the wait. R&R and tell me if something seems terrible or OOC to you. :)

P.S. As of this chapter's posting, I updated the prologue with better grammer, content, and story flow (As well as some plot changes). It has about 1000 more words, so if you haven't read it yet, go read it!


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